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Why Do Corporations Need A Single Purpose?

Harvard Business Review

As the Harvard Business School's Michael Jensen put the argument in a 2002 article , "Any organization must have a single-valued objective as a precursor to purposeful or rational behavior. Some want to hold their shares for only a short time and care only about tomorrow's stock price.

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How IBM's Sam Palmisano Redefined the Global Corporation

Harvard Business Review

When Palmisano retired this month, the media chronicled his success by focusing on IBM's 21% annual growth in earnings per share and its increase in market capitalization to $218 billion. In 2002 Palmisano succeeded a legendary leader in Lou Gerstner, who saved IBM from being broken up and put it on a viable course. Directness.